Chapter Fifty-Three
Atlas
As I pull into an old blue house, I take in the quaint yellow shutters and front door. This is where Bea lives? There’s no way that evil bitch has a place like this. Shoving the car into park, I rush out, nearly slipping on the snow-covered ground.
There’s a solid two to three inches out here, and I almost wrecked three times on the way over. Sirens wail in the distance, but I’ll be damned if I’m waiting for them.
“Atlas, be careful!” Rhett shouts behind me. I don’t stop to see if he’s following. I don’t know if it’s only Bea now, but it’s a chance I have to take. I left the knife at Seth’s workshop, but I’ll figure it out.
When I climb onto the porch, I notice the house is quiet, except for a TV playing in the living room. Looking through the windows, I don’t see anyone and take it as my chance. When I try the doorknob, I find it locked. Fuck it.Pulling my booted foot up, I slam it into the entryway, and it caves in. Swinging the door open, I scream Cora’s name but get no answer.
“Come on, pretty girl. Where are you? I know you’re here. I can feel it.”
Rhett comes into the house behind me and looks around theroom. “Go check upstairs,” I instruct. Nodding, he starts to leave. “But be careful,” I add. “We don’t know who else is here.”
Turning, I head into the kitchen and see a box sitting on the table. It reminds me of those old cigar holders, and when I grab it, I notice there are bullets in it but no gun.Fuck.
“Cora!” I scream again, racing through the kitchen toward the back door, then stop. The door next to the pantry is partially open, leading down to a basement.
Grabbing a knife from the block, I slowly make my way down the stairs. My heart stops beating in my chest when I get halfway down. Cora is lying on the floor, blood pooling around her, with who I’m assuming is her grandmother to the side. The stench of copper fills my nose, and I rush to her.
“Cora! Firefly. Baby.” I cradle her in my arms. The relief I have in finding her is dimmed by the large bump I feel at the base of her skull. Pulling my hand away, the blood that coats it fills me with fear and dread so heavy it’s crushing. She doesn’t seem to be breathing. “Cora!” I beg. “Come on, baby. Don’t give up.” Holding her tighter, I hear the rattle of a chain and nearly come out of my skin.They fucking chained her up like an animal?
I look out the window across the room and see the blue-and-red lights. “Down here!” I scream. “Help!”
Rhett’s body comes into view as he runs down the stairs. “Oh my God, Atlas.” He takes in my form, clutching Cora’s bloody body to mine. “What the fuck?” he shouts, tugging at his hair.
Looking behind me, he notices Bea’s body for the first time. “Is she dead? Whose blood is that?”
Shaking my head, I can’t answer. I know some of it is Cora’s, but I don’t know how much. There’s pools of sticky red liquid all around. When we hear footsteps above us, Rhett runs back upstairs. “We need help down here! Fucking now!” he shouts.
Holding Cora in my arms, I look down at her face and plead with her to open her eyes. “Come on, baby. Show me those pretty blues. The ones our kids will have one day.” I gently kiss her forehead andcheeks. “A little girl with your eyes and brown hair, one who’s as beautiful as her mother. One who brings light to my life.”
“Sir, I need you to step away.” A paramedic pulls her from me. There’s blood all over my clothes, but I reluctantly let go as they start to work on her.
“We need cutters,” one of them shouts.
After an eternity, one of the paramedics comes back, and I flinch as they cut the chain by the cuff on her ankle.
Bracing her neck, they rush up the stairs with the love of my life on a stretcher.Another set of paramedics are looking over Bea, and I see one of them shake their head, but the sense of satisfaction I was hoping for doesn’t come. I’m glad she’s dead, but that means Cora was the one to take her life.
Turning back to my girl, I follow them back up the stairs and out into the chilly night. The snow is falling in thick blankets as I rush toward the ambulance. I hear a few words they say as they’re loading her in.
“Gunshot to the leg… broken finger… head contusions.”
What did they do to you, baby? The urge to go back and set fire to the house, along with the old bag’s body, overwhelms me, but I stay with Cora. “Sir, you can follow us to the hospital.” As he speaks, he tries to block my view.
Shoving past him, I climb in. “She’s my fiancée. I’m not fucking leaving. Let’s go. Now.” I exchange a look with Rhett. “Follow us but be careful.” He nods just as the doors slam shut, and we set off.
Refusing to take my eyes off her, I pray to the God that abandoned me as a child and beg him not to take her from me. The monitors begin to beep rapidly as the medics work on her body.
“She’s crashing!” one of them shouts, then barks out orders.
Squeezing my eyes shut, my fearful prayers turn to angry ultimatums.Don’t you fucking dare try this. I will destroy this world if something happens to her. I don’t care who I have to maim or hurt along the way.
A steady beeping fills the air, and the paramedics pause their frantic activities as we pull into the hospital.
Raising my eyes to the sky as I get out, I nod.Glad we understand each other.
